University of Northern Iowa Athletics
UNI Women's Basketball Signs Two
11/11/2020 8:26:00 AM | Women's Basketball
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – UNI women's basketball head coach Tanya Warren announced the signings of Cedar Falls guard Anaya Barney and Marion guard Riley Wright to national letters of intent.
"We are so excited about the addition of Anaya and Riley to our Panther family," Warren said. "We absolutely love the competitiveness and passion for the game they will bring. They are both very versatile on both ends of the floor and will provide great depth for our backcourt for the next four years."
The duo brings both individual and team honors. Wright enters her senior season as a three-time all-state honoree with a career field goal percentage over 50 percent. She helped lead Marion to a state title as a freshman and a runner-up finish as a sophomore. She joins Marion teammate Kayba Laube who is a freshman this season for the Panthers.
Barney is a three-time all-conference honoree and a two-time all-state pick. She helped lead the Tigers to State tournaments in 2018 and 2020. She joins Cedar Falls alums Cynthia Wolf, Kam Finley, Emerson Green and her sister Kiana Barney.
Anaya Barney
Guard • 5-11 • Cedar Falls, Iowa • Cedar Falls HS
Barney led the Tigers in points, rebounds and assists for the 2019-20 season. She was 165-345 (47.8%) from the field for a team-leading 414 points. She had 91 assists, 54 steals, 56 blocks and 169 rebounds. As a sophomore, she was second on the team behind Green with 316 points but led the Tigers with 110 rebounds. She scored 222 points and grabbed 68 rebounds as a freshman. She is a three-year honor roll student.
Riley Wright
Guard • 5-11 • Marion, Iowa • Marion, Iowa
Wright scored 317 points on 114/224 (50.9%) shooting, and she was second on the team in total points, trailing only Laube. She led the team with 123 assists and was second on the team with 103 rebounds. She tied for the team high with 54 steals on the season. Marion won its first 20 games of the season before falling to Iowa City West in the regular-season finale and dropping the Region 6 Championship game to Clear Creek-Amana. Marion was the 2018-19 runner up, falling to North Scott in the title game 50-49. She scored 310 points and led the team with a school-record 125 assists her sophomore season. She scored 211 points during her state-championship freshman season. She also tallied 44 assists and 57 rebounds that year. She was named the All-Metro Team Captain her junior year and was first-team all-state her sophomore and junior seasons. She is a three-year honor roll student.
The Panthers are expected to open the 2020-21 season on Nov. 25, but the non-conference schedule is still being finalized. Limited seating and COVID protocols will be in place for the duration of the season.
